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Kyro II powered 3D Prophet 4500
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| Mon Jul 16, 2001 | 7:46P| PermaLink |
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Something dawned on me when I sat down to begin writing this review. The STMicroelectronics Kyro II powered Hercules 3D Prophet 4500, is the first video card that I have reviewed since July 2000, that is not powered by an nVidia chipset. nVidia's dominance in the 3D chipset arena is well documented (and deserved for that matter) but it is always good for consumers, when a potential competitor rises from obscurity to challenge the dominance of the current market leaders. Along with increased competition, comes more rapid innovation and lower price points.
However, I don't want to give you all a false impressions. nVidia's GeForce 3 is currently unrivaled in terms of features and performance. On the other hand, it looks as if the mid-level market occupied by the GeForce 2 MX and Radeon, is about to get a little more diverse. Normally the introduction of a mid-level product doesn't come with a lot of glitz but the Kyro II is causing quite a stir. It is the first true tile-based renderer to offer excellent visual quality, great compatibility and levels of performance usually reserved for products costing much more.
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FULL STORY @
HOTHARDWARE
(http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/S&V/kyro2.htm)
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